LYNCHBURG — The emotion on election night — young people jumping with joy, African-Americans, especially older men, touched by the moment — was enough to make some people cry.
CNN correspondent Candy Crowley didn't, but she could understand those who did. "I said to myself, 'It doesn't matter who you voted for, this was an amazing moment in American history.' "
Crowley, 58, spent part of yesterday at Randolph College talking with students and faculty. A 1970 alumna of the former women's college and 2002 Alumnae Achievement Award recipient, she spoke last night on "An Insider's Perspective on the 2008 Presidential Campaign" in a presentation open to the public.
Crowley is based in Washington and covers a broad range of stories, including presidential, congressional and gubernatorial races, and major legislative developments on Capitol Hill. She came to CNN from NBC News in 1987.
Some fault the media for being too lenient in its coverage of Barack Obama, but Crowley disagrees. There were times when Obama had a rough time, and as examples Crowley points to coverage of the candidate's comments about some people clinging to guns and religion; criticism of America by Obama's longtime minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright; and Obama's association with one-time radical William Ayers.
Nor was coverage of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin unfair, Crowley said. The problem isn't whether there were too many questions, but too few, she said.
"Did I think Sarah Palin was over-covered? No," Crowley said. "I think Joe Biden was under-covered."
Supporters often faulted the media for being too hard on their candidate while giving the other side a pass, but much of that stems from a world of 24-hour news coverage and a public that doesn't know the difference between the roles of commentators, reporters and analysts, she said.
Crowley has covered the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, Bob Dole, Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Ronald Reagan and Paul Tsongas, among others. Since the presidential nomination of Jimmy Carter, she has covered all but one of the national political conventions.
Crowley said she has enjoyed each candidacy because they were all so different: from Clinton's constant motion and enjoyment of the process, to Dole's dry Midwestern wit and the sense of history that this was the last run of a World War II veteran, to Kerry, who was "ultimately really qualified" but "lacked whatever that X-factor is that makes people vote for you."
Crowley said she has never rooted for a candidate, but feels sorry for all of them. "It takes a pretty strong sense of self to run for president . . . to put up with so much of what they put up with," she said.
Jamie C. Ruff is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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